Art vs. Artist

They say you should never meet your heroes because you’ll likely be disappointed. This is sound advice because while art is a realization of ideals, artists are human beings full of flaws and contradictions. It is also a mistake to equate the art with the artist because the artist cannot be fully responsible for the way the art is received – the audience always has its own filter of prejudice and preoccupation. It would seem the less you know about the creator of something, the better you can enjoy it on its own merits, but I don’t value ignorance and find it helpful to understand what may be informing the artist’s choices. Keeping everything in perspective is the key to balancing the equation.

I’m sure everyone has had some experience of idolizing someone, be it a movie star or singer or athlete, only to learn some unseemly detail of their private lives that forever taints the way they look at them. For myself, I have problems watching Mel Gibson in movies because of things he has said in the past. The thing is he’s not the only one who has a shitty side and I’m sure if I looked closer at any handful of celebrities whose work I admire I would find plenty to object to. People who are completely agreeable are also completely unremarkable.

Furthermore, almost any entertainment is a collaborative effort. No single person is totally responsible for the final product, unless we’re talking about the true lone creator (like a sculptor or a painter, for instance). What the audience receives is subject to all kinds of variables, from the input of the contributors to the happenstance and accidents surrounding its production. Above all, however, art is less about communication than revelation: presenting an ideal artifice upon which the audience can project its psyche and discover personal truths, which may or may not have anything to do with the artist’s intent.

A sophisticated artist can influence the direction of the audience’s thinking, certainly, but a sophisticated audience should be equally aware of the tools and tricks of the artist’s trade and spot a lie when it contradicts the truth as they understand it. Art, like a good story, has to have an internal logic in order for it to carry any sort of meaning. Otherwise, all you have is sound and fury signifying nothing. Knowing the influences that go into any art will help to decode it, but only to a point. Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees.

It’s also important to keep in mind that art is a lie in service of the truth. The people behind it may or may not fully believe what they are saying. Like a magician, making you wonder is the point of the exercise. While it’s important to know what shaped the creation of any art, it is the art and your relation to it that matters more than the creators. Know thyself.